office for Somerset, and custody of Lydford Castle. In May 1216 the king offered William a safe conduct, which noted that William had fled overseas. The letters were witnessed by Peter des Roches. In mid-1217, he rejoined the royalist cause, returning to the side of Henry III. This action regained him some of his lost lands. William last appeared in documents on 25 July 1217 and was dead by 16 February 1218, probably before 2 December 1217, when someone else is mentioned as archdeacon. On 16 February 1218, John Marshall became the guardian of Richard, William's nephew and heir, who was the son of William's brother Richard. William has been described as having a "special responsibility for ports, customs, and the navy" by the historian Robert Bartlett. He is usually given the title of "keeper of ports" or "keeper of galleys", which Ralph Turner equates with being First Lord of the Admiralty in later history. Sometimes this would be given as "custos portum maris" in Latin, or "keeper of the seaports". At other times he was titled "keeper of the king's ships". Bartlett also called William "one of the king's most important administrators". Charles Young said that William's service to King John was a "distinguished administrative career", and J. E. A. Joliffe called William one of the "greatest of the king's clerks". Notes Citations References 13th-century English Roman Catholic priests 13th-century English Navy personnel High Sheriffs of Cornwall High Sheriffs of Devon 13th-century English judges 1210s deaths Archdeacons of Taunton Year of birth unknown 12th-century English Roman Catholic priests People from Sutton-at-Hone